Authors in Bloom Blog Hop

Hello, everyone! Thanks for visiting the Authors in Bloom Blog Hop! Spring has sprung, and we’re celebrating! Visit all the authors on the tour for great gardening tips, recipes and a chance to win some fantastic books and prizes!

Here’s my tip:

Location, Location, Location!

My tip is more about how to enjoy your garden than growing or protecting it. If you’re considering a water feature, here’s something you might want to think about:

Birds love water features. Now, you may love birds, but do you want them on your patio? Trust me. You don’t.

My husband and I installed a water feature a few years ago. We thought we had the perfect place for it –– a small cut-out in our patio, at the edge, near the house. We’d be able to see the feature and birds from inside the house. And, of course, we’d hear the water bubbling pleasantly when we were outside on the patio. We like the birds, and I love the sound of the water.

The problem? It’s not a good location. A couple of times a year there must be something the birds eat that makes them very thirsty. They converge on the water — and patio — in great multitudes. And they leave a little something behind. Yep. Bird poop. Everywhere. On the patio, the chairs, the pillows, the cushions . . . ugh.

I was prepared for the annual winterizing and refilling. But I wasn’t prepared for the constant clean-up detail. Consider placing your feature a little farther out where birds can perch on trees or shrubs rather than patio furniture. Choose wisely, friends! And enjoy your outdoor space!

PRIZES!

Leave a comment (and your email contact info in case you are a winner!) to enter the giveaway drawing. To be eligible for the Grand Prize, you MUST visit and comment on each participating author’s site!

GRAND PRIZE: We are giving away a Kindle Fire or Nook (winner’s choice) along with a 2nd prize of $25 gift card. Woo-hoo!!

DARLENE’S PRIZE: I’m offering two prizes:

a signed paperback copy of one of my novels plus author swag. Please note, will be mailed to U.S. resident only.

Our biggest frustration with plants is deer eating them. We now plant flowers that they typically do not like such as marigolds and lupines so we can have great colors and and flowers throughout the summer season!

Oh, that sounds lovely. I can’t seem to figure out what the rabbits like or don’t like. They change it up from year to year just to aggravate me! Thanks for stopping by. Happy reading, and happy spring!

My deck is the only place I can feed the birds and see them. I have a mess there always. But I love watching them so much, I just put up with it and hose it down everyday. What really annoys me is that in feeding the birds, I also feed the squirrels and raccoons, who have no problem shinnying up the support beams and onto the deck itself.I keep telling myself that it’s all nature, just sit back and enjoy. But, add the wild critters and my cat, some weeks I think I spend more on animal food than I do at the grocery store!

We enjoy watching birds but we have cats and they like to eat them. We have a big garden and they help keep annoying critters out like raccoons, squirrels, and rabbits. Our dogs scare the deer off 🙂
Thanks for the tip and happy spring.lorih824@yahoo.com

Hello Darlene, we had the same thing happen to us, we bought a fountain and placed it on the deck. Learned my lesson last season, now we have a bird bath placed in the far end of our yard. Thank you Linda Romer isisthe12th(at)gmail(dot)com following blog

We have a pretty bird bath outside that I got just for our feathered friends. But you know what they prefer to drink from? The top of the plastic tote we have outside that we made into a feral cat shelter. Water collects in the lid indentation and birds drink from it every day. figures! 😉